Plans to build five affordable homes have been rejected by Hull City Council on environmental grounds.
Developers hoped to build five homes on an piece of land that sits between Marfleet Lane and the Holderness Drain. Despite the site being surrounded by buildings and infrastructure, it is deemed as being environmentally significant, being a part of a ‘Green Corridor’.
The proposals were for five two-bedroom houses. The houses would have been split between two buildings, one with two semidetached houses and another with a row of three houses.
Jeremy Williams, a representative from ID Planning attended the meeting of the council’s planning committee on behalf of the applicant and told councillors that “evidence presented by the applicant concluded the application site would not meet the relevant criteria to qualify as a local wildlife site and is not of ecological interest.”
Site of rejected homes on Marfleet Lane.
(Image: Google Maps)
Much off the committee’s deliberations pertained to the balance between providing affordable housing whilst maintaining valuable green spaces. Mr Williams said: “The evidence shows a substantial and pressing need for affordable housing that should be given significant weight in the overall planning balance. I would invite members of the committee to conclude the same, that the level of need for new affordable housing is sufficient to support the grant of planning permission in this case.”
Ultimately, councillors fell on the side of environmental protection, narrowly rejecting the proposals by six votes to four. Amongst those who vote against the proposals was Cllr Tracey Henry who feared that granting permission for the development would set a precedent which would become detrimental to other green spaces in the city. Despite her opposition to the development, Cllr Henry conceded that “its a very fine balance, we’re in seriously need of housing but it’s about having the right sort of housing in the right place.”
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